OUR FIRST TRIP TOGETHER

Seriously, what could be better than this?

Taking a dip in the hot tub before bed, getting into a made bed, sleeping next to my warm baby all night, crisp sheets, blackout curtains, continuously running guilt free heat, and of course.....Waking up to this happy precious bundle.

One of my fellow cheerleaders from back in the day at Hastings College came to Michigan this weekend. I have not seen her since 1997. There are only a handful of people in your life that you can pick up exactly where you left off, my dear Betsy was one of them.

It was bittersweet for me. 13 years ago I left a great life in Nebraska to pursue my dreams in Michigan. I was finally able to show Betsy what I had move to. We toured Saginaw Valley State University and I showed her where I lived and even where I sat on my first night alone in Michigan. It’s weird, while I was busy trying to figure life out back then, Betsy knew all along that I was an adventurer who set out to not only to learn about life but to conquer life. She had faith in me and in predicaments to this day she will ask herself, “What would Jamie do this this situation?”

Someone wants to think like me? Gosh, seriously? I live in a bubble of happiness, my make-believe world where anything is possible, I really like it here. Well, since Maddox was born that bubble that I had spent 31 years building burst and I fell hard. I am in the process of slowly rebuilding that bubble and I promise, someday I will float inside of it, inside that make-believe world where all dreams come true. So thank you Betsy for loving my crazy idealist ways of thinking and reminding me that I can get back there.

After our SVSU tour we went to the pumpkin patch and I found the most perfect ‘punkin’ for Maddox.

When we were done there, we went to the Saginaw Spirit pink out ladies breast cancer awareness hockey game to watch my girlfriend Rae play. While I watched the game, Maddox was fixated on the mascot!

Just so you know, Maddox thinks that people who drink beer are absolutely hilarious!

One of the things that Betsy and I talked about was all of the tests that were done when I was pregnant that were supposed to identify whether or not Maddox had Down Syndrome. I had over 10 ultrasounds because of the car accident. Even with each ultrasound, her heart and brain showed no indication of down syndrome. I had hours and hours of fetal monitoring. Her 20 week ultrasound showed no indication of a nuchal fold which is another Down Syndrome marker. The 3D ultrasound never made anyone question her features. And lastly, most importantly:

We did have genetic testing done prior to her birth.

Guess what?

It was lost......

Betsy said it better than anyone, “Maddox was coming into this world kicking and screaming whether you liked it or not.”

When the evening ended with my girlfriends, Maddox and I went back to the hotel for our very first mother daughter night. I thought we would take a dip in the pool but when I turned to ask her what she thought of this idea, her eyes were shut! She was out cold. Feeling like I wanted to conquer the world, I loaded her into the stroller, put on my suit and off we went at 10:00 PM to the hot tub. I pushed her stroller right up to the tub, got many looks from strangers, and went on about my business.

I was enjoying myself until two very friendly girls came to join me. One had a nine month old and one had a seven month old, each child was home with their husband for the night. They took a peek at Maddox, asked how old she was. I told them, “Nine months.” They both looked at each other in awe and said, “There is no way she is nine months.” My first thought was yes I know how old she is. Then the questions came. How much did she weight when she was born, how tall was she, was she a preemie, where does she fall on the growth charts? I skirted around every question all while wondering if I should blurt out, “She has Down Syndrome okay!?” Instead I pulled the, “I need to go call my husband” card. Up and out I went, so much for chillaxing in the hot tub.

We got back to the room and snuggled in the large king bed. This was my favorite part of the entire day. Ok, maybe waking up to a baby with her first bed head was more fun.

My only delimma this weekend was how to take a shower. I couldn’t leave Maddox on the bed, the floor was gross, the stroller was in the car.....So, I laid a towel down, then her blanket and took her right in the bathroom with me!

Yeah, by now I am feeling pretty invincible. The final task of my trip was to figure out how to get my purse, the diaper bag, our overnight bag, the stroller, car seat, and camera backpack to the car in one trip since I couldn't leave Maddox in neither the car or hotel alone. Thank goodness moms have octopus arms. I put on the backpackPut the car seat in the strollerPut my keys around my neckHung the diaper bag on the strollerAnd pulled my suitcase along